2014 Fifa World Cup

[Nagflar]

I'm happy about Spain's group. It could turn out ugly, but I've got faith in them. Kind of guarantees there'll be a few good matches, too.

 

As for the others: Mexico is most likely out, Colombia is most likely passing, either England or Uruguay is out, France could go out, Argentina's been handed the classification in a silver-plater, Portugal will have a tough time classifying and Belguim should classify without much issue. Truly some of the most interesting groups I've seen in the past few years.

[I_PerfectHero_I]

Suarez is top goal scorer in the BPL also Cavani and Forlan are tanks so England goodbye

[KILLA_KEN1988]

England's group is tough, but qualification is by no means impossible. I mean, look at the group we had in South Africa (Algeria, USA and Slovenia) and we barely got through that so maybe having 2 top teams like Uruguay and Italy will bring tHe best out of us.

Uruguay are a beast of a team. They finished 4th in South Africa and won the Copa America, Italy are good but they ain't the force they once were and are easily beatable.

Really thought we would be put in Germany's group though I think we definitely dodged a bullet there

[Shugo-PNM]

Good! Finally an Argentinean PSNP member!

 

Well I dare to say the football love in Iran is not less than countries with professional football.Our weakness in football are based on two main issues:

 

1. First of all we suffer poor managements. For example once an Iranian league team couldn't participate in Asian Champions League because they sent the ID's & documents belatedly by normal post(not DHL,TNT,....) !  Can you believe it?

 

2.Unfortunately we Iranians are not familiar with team-work. (You may knew that we've just won the beach football intercontinental cup 2013  & We're 7th in futsal ranking)

Since football field is huge,Team-Work is necessary & relying only on individual skills will cause failure

 

PS:Can Argentina do us a favor by beating Nigeria & Bosnia (4-0) & us (1-0) So we'll have a better chance to proceed?

 

Thank you for answering to my question ^^ That's some interesting facts you have over there. For what I heard today, Iran has a good attack and scored many goals in the qualification (here it's called "eliminatoria"... once again, I'm not sure about the especific english word). I also heard that it has an experienced manager. If I remember properly, this is not the first time that Iran plays a World Cup, but Bosnia does. I think that any of the other teams can make it. Nigeria is a "tough" rival, but mainly for their physical endurance, not for their habilty to play

[N7-XenoRoxas]

Thank you for answering to my question ^^ That's some interesting facts you have over there. For what I heard today, Iran has a good attack and scored many goals in the qualification (here it's called "eliminatoria"... once again, I'm not sure about the especific english word). I also heard that it has an experienced manager. If I remember properly, this is not the first time that Iran plays a World Cup, but Bosnia does. I think that any of the other teams can make it. Nigeria is a "tough" rival, but mainly for their physical endurance, not for their habilty to play

 

The english word is "elimination"

[Shahanshah1991]

 

Iran has a good attack and scored many goals in the qualification

That's not really a point.Most of the Asian national teams are so weak.(Imagine 90% of the European teams were like San Marino,Faroe Islands,Malta,Andorra........ Asia is something like that)

 

this is not the first time that Iran plays a World Cup, but Bosnia does

Yep. But that makes them eager & dangerous.

 

PS:I hope we score 4 points( By a draw vs Nigeria & Winning Bosnia ) That would be a reputable farewell.

[Tomato]

Brazil / Mexico

Spain / Chile

Japan / Columbia

Italy / England

France / Switzerland

Argentina / Bosnia

Germany / Portugal

Belgium / Russia

I would like Japan or Belgium to make a run but favs in my eyes are Brazil/Germany/Spain.

[SmashThruPlanets]

Can't wait, Group B, D, and G are all going to be amazing. 

 

It's going to be tough for England to qualify but hey, at least there's less pressure - hopefully the media won't hype us up too much this time. England v Italy is at 2 in the morning here - will be awesome if we win after the inevitable country-wide marathon drinking session

 

Chile are going to go down fighting in Group B - won't be easy for Spain or Netherlands could see an upset there! 

[Nagflar]

Can't wait, Group B, D, and G are all going to be amazing. 

 

It's going to be tough for England to qualify but hey, at least there's less pressure - hopefully the media won't hype us up too much this time. England v Italy is at 2 in the morning here - will be awesome if we win after the inevitable country-wide marathon drinking session

 

Chile are going to go down fighting in Group B - won't be easy for Spain or Netherlands could see an upset there! 

 

Yeah, Chile could pull something, and I'm betting they will. However, it's also true that they almost always fuck up their chances lol.

 

Brazil / Mexico

Spain / Chile

Japan / Columbia

Italy / England

France / Switzerland

Argentina / Bosnia

Germany / Portugal

Belgium / Russia

I would like Japan or Belgium to make a run but favs in my eyes are Brazil/Germany/Spain.

 

It's called Colombia, not Columbia. It's not some city flying in the sky, you know ? I'm surprised you think Japan will clasify first, though. Colombia plays much better than them, and Falcao is probably the best striker in the whole continent and one of the best 5 in the world.

 

Also, I'm amazed at your faith in Mexico haha.

[Shahanshah1991]

My Prediction :

 

Brazil / Croatia
Spain / Netherlands
Columbia / Japan
Italy / England
Switzerland / France
Argentina / Nigeria
Germany / Portugal
Belgium / Korea

[N7-XenoRoxas]

Brazil / Mexico

Spain / Chile

Japan / Columbia

Italy / England

France / Switzerland

Argentina / Bosnia

Germany / Portugal

Belgium / Russia

I would like Japan or Belgium to make a run but favs in my eyes are Brazil/Germany/Spain.

 

First of all, Ellen Page

Second, im Brazilian but i'll have to disagree with you with Brazil.

[mp01juve1897]

The ridiculous seedings of FIFA have 3 world cup winners in  group D . It would've been France and not Italy in that group if FIFA didn't decide to change their minds at the last minute of putting the French in pot 2. Instead they get the gift of Group E with Switzerland, Honduras and Ecuador. 

 

 

I don't think it's as easy for Brazil as people may think . Sure they had a good confederation cup but with now the pressure is really on and the huge expectation  of playing at home and having to face Spain, Netherlands in the second round could see them slip up. 

[carlosconde23]

Portugal will win.

 

[Nagflar]

Portugal will win.

 

Now wouldn't that be something? But I doubt it'll happen. They have very talented players, but they never seem to work well. Even in the second match against Sweden they left a bit to be desired, given most of the good plays were thanks to Sweden's defense being very disorganized at those particular moments.

[GameCoreX]

Group A is a pretty balanced group if you ask me. Brazil should be the favorite to advance, of course. But Croatia, Cameroon and especially Mexico are all capable of pulling an upset.

1. Brazil, 2. Mexiko, 3. Cameroon, 4. Croatia

 

Group B consists of 2 big football nations, who usually should easily advance into the next round. They just have to play out 1st place. And since Spain showed some weak sides in the past few friendlies, I think the Netherlands will take this group.

1. Netherlands, 2. Spain, 3. Chile, 4. Australia

 

Now on to Group C. Arguably the weakest yet the most uncertain group in the tournament. My bet is on japan tho, because they had a really strong showing in the Asian Qualification. Behind them it's a totally open race, but I trust in Drogba getting his squad into the next round.

1. Japan, 2. Cote d'Ivoire, 3. Greece, 4. Colombia

 

Group D is also a close race between 3 of the 4 teams. While I think Italy might have a slight advantage over the rest, England and Uruguay are absolutely even in my book and should give us a really entertaining matchup. Costa Rica won't stand a chance here.

1. Italy, 2. Uruguay, 3. England, 4. Costa Rica

 

Group E might be, if at all, a race between France and Switzerland for the top spot. If Ribery & company can keep their playoff momentum for the world cup, they'll take the cake.

1. France, 2. Switzerland, 3. Equador, Honduras

 

The 1st place in Group F should normally be already decided. Argentina will not have any problems, keeping their opponents at distance here. Behind them, it's a matchup between Bosnia and Nigeria for 2nd place.

1. Argentina, 2. Bosnia, 3. Nigeria, 4. Iran

 

Group G is arguably the "group of death" this upcoming World Cup. Germany and Portugal are certainly considered the favorites but you cannot leave the USA out of the conversation. I'm German, but I don't like my national team at all (yeah, believe it or not), so I hope they're going to fail miserably in the group stage, but unfortunately they are again the top seed for winning the cup.

1. Germany, 2. Portugal, 3. USA, 4. Ghana

 

Last but not least we have Group H. Again a very balanced group with no clear top seed on first sight. But Belgium is kinda my dark horse for the entire tournament, because they have a very talented and skilled offense and played great in the European Qualifyings. Russia ain't as strong as they used to be a few years ago, but in my book, they'll claim the #2 spot.

1. Belgium, 2. Russia, 3. Korea, 4. Algeria

[ShadowFan]

Portugal will get first in his group easily, so yeah im satisfied with my group

 

Eh, the German side have been pretty solid. Sure they have Ronaldo, but one man carry a whole team to win the world cup. Also there defence can be quite suspect.

Uruguay are currently ranked 6 in the world while England are 13, so I would say they are no pushovers.

 

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/

 

Despite this, they only managed to qualify for the turnamnet via the intercontinteal playoffs. This means they were below, Chile, Columbia, Ecauder and Argentina. And while there attack is good, there defence isn't solid and slow. Mst of the team are past there prime in age and s have very little pace , if its the same team from 2010, that Ghana almost knocked out, i dn't think England have too much to be concerned about. Especially becasue there bringing a much younger team this time around (with experience) and they have a semi-decent keeper. 

 

As for Italy, well when they meet in the Euros, the italians only won via penalities. However unlike Uruguay they d have a slid back four. 

There's 3 or 4 tough groups there. As much as I want England to reach the knockout stages I don't think they can. Teams I will be following: Belgium, Spain and all the African teams

Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan upfront

 

See above. I  just think uruguay as a team are pretty overated. They never win conviningly, and if there fielding the same team as 4 years ago, they will invariably be weaker, suarez included (he's like hen messi plays for argentina)

*post*

No love for ivory coast I actually think they'll top the group The last world cups they've always been put in the group of death. And while Drogba, appearing past it, Toure has been on solid form this season.

[carlosconde23]

Now wouldn't that be something? But I doubt it'll happen. They have very talented players, but they never seem to work well. Even in the second match against Sweden they left a bit to be desired, given most of the good plays were thanks to Sweden's defense being very disorganized at those particular moments.

yeah, i kind of agree with you. But still, Portugal will win.

[Nagflar]

yeah, i kind of agree with you. But still, Portugal will win.

 

Not a fan of Portugal, but here's hoping you're not wrong lol. At least that would mean Brazil didn't win .

 

Eh, the German side have been pretty solid. Sure they have Ronaldo, but one man carry a whole team to win the world cup. Also there defence can be quite suspect.

 

Despite this, they only managed to qualify for the turnamnet via the intercontinteal playoffs. This means they were below, Chile, Columbia, Ecauder and Argentina. And while there attack is good, there defence isn't solid and slow. Mst of the team are past there prime in age and s have very little pace , if its the same team from 2010, that Ghana almost knocked out, i dn't think England have too much to be concerned about. Especially becasue there bringing a much younger team this time around (with experience) and they have a semi-decent keeper. 

 

As for Italy, well when they meet in the Euros, the italians only won via penalities. However unlike Uruguay they d have a slid back four. 

 

See above. I  just think uruguay as a team are pretty overated. They never win conviningly, and if there fielding the same team as 4 years ago, they will invariably be weaker, suarez included (he's like hen messi plays for argentina)

No love for ivory coast I actually think they'll top the group The last world cups they've always been put in the group of death. And while Drogba, appearing past it, Toure has been on solid form this season.

 

The German side is so solid they were winning 4-0 against Sweden and finished 4-4. They're so solid they los 2-1 to Italy (and it could've been worse, too). It's the same story from the past 15+ years: they've got a good team and they'll get knocked out in the semi-finals anyway lol.

 

"Colombia", not "Columbia", and "Ecuador", not "Ecuader" . And yes, they did fuck up. However, they won't have the same team as 4 years ago, let alone play the same football. The main reason is Forlan, the driving force behind the team 4 years ago, isn't playing at this top anymore and he's most likely not going. However, with Cavani and Suarez on the front, they might as well just need to play well 15-20 minutes to win any game - be it against Italy or againt England. They shouldn't really be underestimated.

 

With that said, the FIFA Ranking proves nothing, so that is one heck of a weak argument from Stevieboy.

 

And Ivory Coast is truly a one man team (unlike Portugal, which has more than a few talented players). Drogba might be Drogba and anything you want, but he's older and he's no longer playing top-notch football. I don't think he'll be able to make them get past the group stage. I also think that he's stupidly overrated, so I can't see Ivory Coast finish above Colombia nor Japan (maybe even Greece).

[ShadowFan]

The German side is so solid they were winning 4-0 against Sweden and finished 4-4. They're so solid they los 2-1 to Italy (and it could've been worse, too). It's the same story from the past 15+ years: they've got a good team and they'll get knocked out in the semi-finals anyway lol.

 

The fact that at there ''worst'' they can get to the semi's is a pretty big statement.

 

"Colombia", not "Columbia", and "Ecuador", not "Ecuader" . And yes, they did fuck up. However, they won't have the same team as 4 years ago, let alone play the same football. The main reason is Forlan, the driving force behind the team 4 years ago, isn't playing at this top anymore and he's most likely not going. However, with Cavani and Suarez on the front, they might as well just need to play well 15-20 minutes to win any game - be it against Italy or againt England. They shouldn't really be underestimated.

 

 

I watched them at the confederates this year and honestly, i couldn't tell the difference. Yeah they have Suarez and Cavani, but the overall team is still pretty slow and there defence is very suspect. Lets just say, Uruguay better not underestimate their opponents.

 

 

 

And Ivory Coast is truly a one man team (unlike Portugal, which has more than a few talented players). Drogba might be Drogba and anything you want, but he's older and he's no longer playing top-notch football. I don't think he'll be able to make them get past the group stage. I also think that he's stupidly overrated, so I can't see Ivory Coast finish above Colombia nor Japan (maybe even Greece).

 

Toure on the other hand has been pretty sweet this season at Man City. The Ivorians have tended not to perform as they've always been drawn in a group of death, unlike this year. I don't know much about Colombia football so i can't comment but Greece no chance i'm sorry. And Japan to be honest are hit and miss. There good no doubt and i think they'll qualify, but  i think thats a wait and see. 

[carlosconde23]

Not a fan of Portugal, but here's hoping you're not wrong lol. At least that would mean Brazil didn't win .

 

 

The German side is so solid they were winning 4-0 against Sweden and finished 4-4. They're so solid they los 2-1 to Italy (and it could've been worse, too). It's the same story from the past 15+ years: they've got a good team and they'll get knocked out in the semi-finals anyway lol.

 

"Colombia", not "Columbia", and "Ecuador", not "Ecuader" . And yes, they did fuck up. However, they won't have the same team as 4 years ago, let alone play the same football. The main reason is Forlan, the driving force behind the team 4 years ago, isn't playing at this top anymore and he's most likely not going. However, with Cavani and Suarez on the front, they might as well just need to play well 15-20 minutes to win any game - be it against Italy or againt England. They shouldn't really be underestimated.

 

With that said, the FIFA Ranking proves nothing, so that is one heck of a weak argument from Stevieboy.

 

And Ivory Coast is truly a one man team (unlike Portugal, which has more than a few talented players). Drogba might be Drogba and anything you want, but he's older and he's no longer playing top-notch football. I don't think he'll be able to make them get past the group stage. I also think that he's stupidly overrated, so I can't see Ivory Coast finish above Colombia nor Japan (maybe even Greece).

let´s just wait until june 2014 and see who will win. but, I still trust in my Portugal

[Nagflar]

The fact that at there ''worst'' they can get to the semi's is a pretty big statement.

 

It's not their worst, though. That'd be getting to the quarter-finals. On the other side, getting to the semi-finals is their best (unless you count getting to the final without any chance to win it being better). Watch them do the same this year: trash whoever they find before the semi-finals and then be next to useless against whatever team they get to lose to in the next round.

[Shugo-PNM]

Group A is a pretty balanced group if you ask me. Brazil should be the favorite to advance, of course. But Croatia, Cameroon and especially Mexico are all capable of pulling an upset.

1. Brazil, 2. Mexiko, 3. Cameroon, 4. Croatia

 

Group B consists of 2 big football nations, who usually should easily advance into the next round. They just have to play out 1st place. And since Spain showed some weak sides in the past few friendlies, I think the Netherlands will take this group.

1. Netherlands, 2. Spain, 3. Chile, 4. Australia

 

Now on to Group C. Arguably the weakest yet the most uncertain group in the tournament. My bet is on japan tho, because they had a really strong showing in the Asian Qualification. Behind them it's a totally open race, but I trust in Drogba getting his squad into the next round.

1. Japan, 2. Cote d'Ivoire, 3. Greece, 4. Colombia

 

Group D is also a close race between 3 of the 4 teams. While I think Italy might have a slight advantage over the rest, England and Uruguay are absolutely even in my book and should give us a really entertaining matchup. Costa Rica won't stand a chance here.

1. Italy, 2. Uruguay, 3. England, 4. Costa Rica

 

Group E might be, if at all, a race between France and Switzerland for the top spot. If Ribery & company can keep their playoff momentum for the world cup, they'll take the cake.

1. France, 2. Switzerland, 3. Equador, Honduras

 

The 1st place in Group F should normally be already decided. Argentina will not have any problems, keeping their opponents at distance here. Behind them, it's a matchup between Bosnia and Nigeria for 2nd place.

1. Argentina, 2. Bosnia, 3. Nigeria, 4. Iran

 

Group G is arguably the "group of death" this upcoming World Cup. Germany and Portugal are certainly considered the favorites but you cannot leave the USA out of the conversation. I'm German, but I don't like my national team at all (yeah, believe it or not), so I hope they're going to fail miserably in the group stage, but unfortunately they are again the top seed for winning the cup.

1. Germany, 2. Portugal, 3. USA, 4. Ghana

 

Last but not least we have Group H. Again a very balanced group with no clear top seed on first sight. But Belgium is kinda my dark horse for the entire tournament, because they have a very talented and skilled offense and played great in the European Qualifyings. Russia ain't as strong as they used to be a few years ago, but in my book, they'll claim the #2 spot.

1. Belgium, 2. Russia, 3. Korea, 4. Algeria

 

Hi, I'm here to revive this thread (?)

 

Are you serious about not liking the team from your country? The days after the groups were decided, obviously the media here (like in, well, everywhere) began to make many kinds of guess and predictions. I've saw all over facebook people who likes football stating that Argentina doesn't have a change against Germany, because they say that they have an even better team that the one which was in the last World Cup. I mean, I know that Argentina's defense is weak, at least if we compare it with the power of the offensive, but I think that it would be a very interesting match to see, unlike the one from 2010... 

[Nagflar]

Hi, I'm here to revive this thread (?)

 

Are you serious about not liking the team from your country? The days after the groups were decided, obviously the media here (like in, well, everywhere) began to make many kinds of guess and predictions. I've saw all over facebook people who likes football stating that Argentina doesn't have a change against Germany, because they say that they have an even better team that the one which was in the last World Cup. I mean, I know that Argentina's defense is weak, at least if we compare it with the power of the offensive, but I think that it would be a very interesting match to see, unlike the one from 2010... 

 

Time will tell, though. One of Argentina's wild cards (so to speak) is Messi. If he is inspired, regardless of Argentina's play-style, they'll probably perform better. However, Messi has been suffering a lot of injuries as of late and who knows if he'll be fit by the time the World Cup comes. The same (but to a much lesser extent, obviously) can be said about most of their players. Germany, on the other side, pretty much always plays effectively, and they have some damned luck in football that's second to none, so who knows how even or interesting a match between the two could be, especially since there's so little settled in stone.

[ShadowFan]

TBH messi is only good, in a good team, he's not the type of player that can literally carry a team forward like Ronaldo. Last world cup (like most of the big names actually) he didn't really perform. The problem with being such a 'well known' well class player, is all it takes is for the opposing team to employ effective man marking and thats it. 

[Nagflar]

TBH messi is only good, in a good team, he's not the type of player that can literally carry a team forward like Ronaldo. Last world cup (like most of the big names actually) he didn't really perform. The problem with being such a 'well known' well class player, is all it takes is for the opposing team to employ effective man marking and thats it. 

 

Portugal didn't classify thanks to only Ronaldo, though. Sure, he scored all four goals against Sweden, but it wasn't exactly thanks to individual skill. The plays worked thanks to his teammates giving him excellent passes and managing to deorganize Sweden's defense so effectively.

 

And you're right about that. If you can nulify the only guy that plays in the team, the whoel team goes down. It isn't foolproof, though. Just ask any team that had to play against Maradona.